Object Record
Images
Metadata
Collection |
Waterloo Region Museum |
Object ID |
2015.017.002 |
Object Name |
Boot |
Description |
Pair of large, specially made work boots. Includes top hooks for tying shoes. The boots were dyed Schneiders orange colour; original leather boots were brown with black lacings; black showing through orange. Boots well worn. |
Date |
1910 |
Date |
1915 |
Dimensions |
H-16.51 W-12.7 L-34.29 cm |
History |
John Metz (J.M.) Schneider (1859-1942) began selling sausages door to door in 1886. The sausages were made with his mother's recipe and with help from both his wife, Helena Ahrens (1859-1944) and mother, Anna (Metz) Schneider (1832-1904). In 1890, J.M. began making sausages full-time from his home on Courtland Avenue. By 1900, he had built a retail store next to his home in order to expand the business. In 1911, J.M. bought a 16-acre parcel of land at the end of Courtland Avenue, where an abattoir was built. The following year, the business was organized into a joint stock company under the name of J.M. Schneider & Sons Limited. In order to keep up with demand, a new factory was built on the same 16-acre parcel of land, which opened in 1925. In 1930, the company was renamed J.M. Schneider Limited, and new items such as non-sausage meats and cheeses were introduced. By the mid-1940s, the company employed over 500 people at the Courtland plant. Expansion continued with the Wellesley Cheese Company being acquired in 1945, followed by six other companies across the country by 1972. The corporate structure was reorganized in 1975 with a holding company, Schneiders Corporation, formed to oversee the various companies. J.M. Schneider Limited became J.M. Schneider Inc. and continued to be the meat processing division. Schneiders had remained a family-owned business until 1997 when the company was sold to Smithfield Foods of the United States. Smithfield then sold the company to Maple Leaf Foods in 2004. The Courtland Avenue plant was closed in February of 2015, with 1,200 jobs being lost. According to the donor, these boots were made for a Schneiders employee who was exceptionally tall. |
Search Terms |
Smith Briscoe Shoe Company J.M. Schneider and Sons Limited |
People |
Schneider, John Metz |